Teaching team
Deborah Galloway
Contemporary Technique
Deborah started dance training at a young age, attending The Royal Ballet School and Bush Davies School of Performing Arts. Her qualifications include a BA (Hons) in Drama, LISTD Modern Dance, AISTD Imperial Ballet and a Diploma in Contemporary Dance, Choreography and Choreology from Laban.
Deborah's teaching has seen her work with Laine Theatre and Performing Arts, Cecchetti Associates, Arts Educational School, Chiswick, and The Brit School. Alongside her post with DanceEast Deborah also teaches for LABAN, Trinity College of Music and Rambert Dance Company.
As well as her teaching commitments, Deborah is exploring choreography and creating her own work.
Phil Hill
Contemporary Technique
Phil has danced with Protein Dance on Big Sale; Richard Lord on Duets For Small Spaces; Adventures in Motion Pictures on Cinderella, Swan Lake, Highland Fling and Nutcracker; Lloyd Newson on Mazzeppa & Ariodante; Aletta Collins on Carmen & Alistair Fish; V-tol on 32 Feet per Second per Second and Dansproduktie on Space, Colour & Stamina. Recently he has choreographed youth group, A-level and degree pieces as well as the opera Fantastic Mr Fox in Los Angeles and The Beggar's Opera in Strasbourg.
Phil has taught for over twenty years, working with people of all abilities, aged 5 - 80. He is currently part of the teaching faculty at CAT at The Place (London Contemporary Dance School). He has taught in Belgium, Germany, Italy, France and Sweden.
Phil bases his classes around the strength-building elements of Graham and Cunningham techniques, using them as a foundation for building confidence in performance with an emphasis on fluidity and dynamics.
Laura Greenhalgh
Contemporary Technique
Rehearsal Director, Sound Moves Music & Dance
Laura trained at LABAN where she gained a BA (Hons) and Graduate Diploma in Dance and later an MA in Performance. She has performed with Candoco, Henri Oguike and for Ana Catalina from Frankfurt Ballet, and continues to perform and create her own work.
Laura's teaching credits include the CAT programme at Swindon Dance, The Circus Space, University Campus Suffolk and currently Laban and Roehampton University where she teaches undergraduate dance students.
Laura teaches contemporary dance through the use of Graham and Limon techniques.
Sarah Lewis
Contemporary Technique - Norwich
Sarah started dancing through the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancers (ISTD) syllabus classes from a young age and was a member of the Suffolk County Council Ballet Scholarship Scheme. She left Suffolk to train at London Contemporary Dance School from 2004-2007 where she gained her BA (Hons).
Following graduation Sarah joined Verve08, the graduate company at the Northern School of Contemporary Dance and toured work by Henri Oguike, Darshan Singh-Bhuller, Carol Brown and Wendy Houstoun. Sarah currently teaches for Richard Alston Dance Company and is a Dance Artist with Norfolk Dance. She is choreographing for Resolution! at The Place as well as researching and developing a collaboration with a photographer and musician for a mixed media production. Sarah continues performing, choreographing and teaching, and enjoying the cross over between all three.
Jacqueline Denny
Ballet Tutor
Jacqueline trained in her native Canada and in Philadelphia at the Pennsylvania Ballet School. Her performing career includes work with Pennsylvania Ballet; Danny Grossman; CoisCeim Dance Theatre; Thursford Christmas Spectacular; Spirit of the Dance - Reno and UK tour, and the Spirit of Broadway - Far East tour. Jacqueline obtained her Professional Dancers Teaching Diploma from the Royal Academy of Dance and has since taught at Laban in London, at the RAD and at Bird College.
As well as teaching dance Jacqueline has been a teacher of Pilates since 2001. She has worked with many dancers/actors in the West End including those in The Lion King, and currently teaches privately in London.
Matthew Paluch
Ballet Tutor
Matthew started ballet at the age of 7 and went on to train at the Royal Ballet School from the age of 11. Matthew's career includes four years with English National Ballet and then several freelance positions with K Ballet; London City Ballet; Scottish Ballet and European Ballet.
Matthew made the transition in to teaching through the Royal Academy of Dance Professional Dancers Teaching Diploma Course. He has since taught for the Royal Ballet School Partnership and Access Programme; Lewisham College; English National Ballet Education; the Royal Academy of Dance and guest teaches for the Centre for Advanced Training at Laban.
Tom Hobden
Creative Dance Tutor
Tom started teaching dance to children 9 years ago. He recently completed his Masters degree in Choreography at London Contemporary Dance School and is currently undertaking his PGCE at Suffolk New College, where he delivers classes in Contemporary Dance and Choreography to BTEC students.
Tom has been leading boys dance activities for DanceEast for the last 5 years and also delivers creative dance to students from age 7 to adult. He spent a year as Choreographer in Residence at the Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds and is currently the Group Leader for DanceEast's boys only youth dance company, Boyz United. As well as his dance teaching work, Tom is qualified as a fitness instructor and Fitness Yoga teacher.
Michael Mann
Pilates Practitioner
Michael trained in 1987 with Alan Herdman, who introduced Pilates into the UK in the early 70's. During Michael's time in the RAF he trained as a swimming instructor and went on to train as a disability swimming teacher which sparked his interest in learning about anatomy and physiology. In 1986 while still working as a swimming instructor he met Lady Julia de Saumerez of Shrubland Hall Health Clinic. She encouraged him to go and train with a good friend of hers, Alan Herdman. Lady Julia also encouraged Michael to help others through Pilates, especially dancers, her special interest, and athletes. It was owing to this that Michael started his involvement with Danceast in the early 90's, at first working with the dance trainees and now with the general public.
Michael was one of the founding members of the Pilates Foundation which was set up in 1996 by a group of Pilates teachers with the intention of protecting the integrity of the Pilates technique. This professional body, organized and run by fellow Pilates teachers, runs regular workshops and training sessions to refine the teachers' knowledge which is a requirement of membership.
Michael worked at Shrubland Hall Health Clinic until it closed in April 2006 when he was invited to join the Gilmour Piper practice in Ipswich. Throughout Michael's career he has worked very closely with both doctors and physiotherapists. He has also worked closely with osteopaths and many other alternative therapists who have greatly expanded his expertise in handling all sorts of injuries and illnesses, assisting recovery and recuperation, and also maintaining the clients good health once achieved.
Elsa Bradley
Health Education
Elsa has taught dance in community and education settings for the last 15 years, including The Royal Ballet and Birmingham Royal Ballet Education Departments, DanceEast, and DanceDigital (previously known as Essex Dance). For the last 6 years Elsa has worked as Senior Dance Artist at Norfolk Dance developing a broad range of work with dancers of all ages. Alongside teaching she has continued to perform in works by choreographers such as Claire Russ, Ben Wright and Cristina Caprioli.
Elsa completed an MSc in Dance Science at Laban in October 2008 and has been working closely with Laban to develop appropriate methods of screening and profiling young dancers. She is also a visiting Lecturer at the University of Bedfordshire and an Independent Dance Scientist.
Gary Leach
Musician
Gary has been a professional musician for many years and continues to perform as a percussionist in a variety of settings and styles. He has trained in Drum Kit technique at Bath University and has had tuition from some of the UK's leading drum tutors.
Gary teaches Drums and Rhythm Studies to percussionists as well as delivering drumming and music workshops in school and community settings. Gary's main instrument is Drum Kit although he will be playing the African Djembe for the Academy classes.